Natarle Badgiruel
Natarle Badgiruel is a character in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. Personality Natarle comes from a long family history of honor and prestige to the Earth Alliance, it was natural for her to continue the lineage as a career soldier. As an officer, she's less emotional, caring, strict, and by-the-book when it comes to taking action. Because of her constant soldier mentality, it often makes her less likable, but also maintains perspective in terms of tactical and military decisions. She's a strong supporter to the Alliance. Although she is shocked upon hearing that her superiors were planning to sacrifice her former crewmates along with the Eurasian forces at the Battle of JOSH-A, she accepted the Alliance's decision. After the Earth Alliance destroys Boaz with nuclear missiles, Natarle began to seriously question whether or not she is doing the right thing. When Azrael orders the Dominion to kill Captain Ramius and the rest of her former crewmates on board the Archangel, she does defy his orders. Natarle is least understood by her peers. She has been driven to be a career soldier so long that people forget that she's still a woman. Driven by her sense of duty and emotional protective nature, she never showed her softer side for people to appreciate. It was only in the final moments of her life that she finally broke her mold and listened to her heart. Skills and Abilities Natarle is a skilled tactical officer, excelling in ship combat tactics, even outmaneuvering the Archangel during the first battle in which it and the Dominion met. Furthermore, she knows how to use the environment to her advantage, thus allowing her to attack decisively. Trained to be a career soldier, she's a capable at piloting ships and using firearms. History The Archangel The child of a military family, Natarle is a promising young Earth Alliance officer. Stationed on Orb's Heliopolis colony as part of a secret project to produce weapons capable of fighting ZAFTs mobile suits, Natarle is one of the few survivors when ZAFT's Le Creuset team raid the colony to seize the new weapons. Although an Ensign at the time, during the raid she temporarily assumes command of the Archangel (as she was the most senior officer on board) in order to launch the ship in haste. She then hands over command of the ship to Lt. Murrue Ramius (who was the most senior surviving officer in charge of the Archangel). She then becomes the executive officer of the Archangel and supervises the ship's Combat Information Center, effectively becoming 2nd-in-command. She holds reservations about allowing Kira Yamato, a Coordinator, to remain on board the ship as a Gundam pilot but Captain Murrue Ramius disagrees. Natarle is stern and operates by the book, though some incidents show she is willing to do almost anything to reach a certain end, even when it conflicts with Captain Ramius. The first incident occurs when Natarle threatens Lacus Clyne to stave off ZAFT forces after they destroy an Atlantic Federation fleet. The second incident occurs after the Archangel rendezvous with Admiral Lewis Halberton and his Eighth Fleet. Natarle says that they can't afford to let Kira leave and suggests taking his parents hostage. Admiral Halberton rebukes her, and both actions produce friction between her and Captain Ramius. Nevertheless, Natarle is a superb tactical analyst with keen judgment and a knack for swift decision-making, which made her a valuable asset to the Archangel. When they finally arrive at JOSH-A, Natarle was transferred to a shore assignment. In their last encounter face-to-face, Captain Ramius thanks Natarle and says she will make a fine captain someday. When ZAFT launched a surprise attack on JOSH-A in an effort to wipe out of the Alliance, the Archangel and Eurasian forces were dispatched to deal with them, Atlantic Federation personnel secretly made their escape. Natarle was among them. However, she overheard a few soldiers discussing the Atlantic Federation's plan to use a secret Cyclops system underneath JOSH-A to wipe out the ZAFT forces and sacrifice the base's defenses. The Eurasian forces and the Archangel were unwanted by the Blue Cosmos controlled Atlantic Federation for the following reasons: the Eurasian Federation's moderate stance towards Coordinators and Kira Yamato, a Coordinator, being among the Archangel's crew. The Dominion Natarle was eventually promoted to Lt. Commander and was again reassigned to command as the new Captain of the Dominion, the Archangel's sister ship. While attempting training exercises with her crew, a representative from the Defense Committee, Muruta Azrael, came to the Dominion as an observer, explaining that they are to hunt down and destroy the Archangel, which had survived the battle of JOSH-A and had gone rogue. Tragically, she is forced to battle her former crew at the Mendel colony. At first, she tried to appeal to her former crew to come back to the Alliance. However, Murrue politely declined, explaining that they have serious doubts about Alliance forces in their entirety, as Blue Cosmos was in control. Azrael then mocked Natarle's attempts to solve things through discussion and then orders the Calamity, Raider and Forbidden to launch and attack. Through Natarle's strategies, they were able to outmaneuver the Archangel but came at a disadvantage when it received firing support from the Eternal and Kusanagi. Battle of Jachin Due & Death During the final stages of the battle, ZAFT launched a life pod carrying Flay Allster, carrying data on the Neutron Jammer Canceller. Natarle ordered for her retrieval and with her arrival into the Dominion, Flay presented them with the disk which interested Azrael to put this technology to use by using it for nuclear weapons to use against the PLANTs. The Dominion then joined the Alliance fleet to engage the whole of the ZAFT forces. The Alliance forces fire nuclear missiles but they are all intercepted by the Freedom and Justice. Then, ZAFT unveiled its ultimate weapon, GENESIS, which eliminates entire fleets and the Ptolemaios base on the Moon. Outgunned and outmatched, Azrael snaps and orders that every last nuclear missile be fired at the PLANTs, ignoring Natarle's constant pleas for him to rethink his orders as that would not eliminate the threat of the GENESIS to the earth. Azrael, becoming obsessed with the destruction of the PLANTs, then threatened to shoot her for insubordination. When the Archangel came into view, Azrael demanded that she destroy that ship of traitors once and for all, an order which Natarle was hesitant to carry out. In the ensuing fight, both ships were heavily damaged. Natarle, wishing with all her heart that her former crew-mates could just end this. Flay, who was acting as the communication officer at the time, tried to warn the Archangel, causing Azrael to attack and aim his gun at her. Natarle, having had enough, held him back, ordering her crew to abandon ship and even encouraging Flay to go to the Archangel. In their struggle, Natarle is shot, forcing her to release Azrael who tries to fire from the soon to be doomed ship. When Natarle traps them inside the bridge, Azrael shoots her several times in an attempt to get her to let him out. Presuming her finished, he attempted to fire the remaining Lohengrin but the shot is intercepted by Mu in the heavily damaged Strike Gundam. She mocks him one last time saying that he's already lost which prompts Azrael to shoot her again before the Archangel fires back, destroying the Dominion and killing Azrael and Natarle who looks no less than content with her fate. Gallery Natarle_Glasses.jpg Now_Badgiruel.jpg Dominion_Cursed.jpg Badgiruel_Demise.jpg|Natarle Demise Azrael_and_Natarle_Death.jpg|Azrael and Natarle Death Navigation Category:Female Category:Lawful Neutral Category:Deceased Category:Gundam Villains Category:Destroyer of Innocence Category:Destroyers Category:Villains by Proxy Category:Redeemed Category:Anti-Villain Category:Status Dependent on Version Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice Category:Pawns Category:Friend of a Hero Category:Scapegoat